Whole House Building Supply was commissioned to do the demolition of the nun’s dormitory for the Church of Nativity in Menlo Park, which, by coincidence is where Aaron’s grandmother went to church when he was a child. She had 2 sisters that were nuns who lived on the East Coast, so felt quite at home in this space and became quite close with many of the nuns there during the 80s. The convent had 3 kitchens, a gathering space with a library & numerous bedrooms upstairs with shared bathrooms mingled in between.

We were most interested in the white oak paneling & oak trim located in a back room where there were tables, a small stage, and a confessional just to the right of the door. Aaron spent 2 days peeling the panels off of the walls and de-nailing the oak trim; well worth the time to salvage all that material! I spent most of the time wondering around with my camera, taking photos of my favorite items. The 50’s decor really struck a cord with me; the teal counter tops, yellow cabinets, steel-plated outlet covers (which we snagged for the Tiny House) and frosty white light shades all drew me in. As did the ‘welcome’ mat that sat outside a hidden entry which matches the one my grandparents had at their doorstep when I was growing up.